77 Kids
77 Kids (occasionally known as 77, AE77 or Seventy Seven) is a clothing store chain that sells apparel, underwear, sleepwear, swimwear, and accessories, aimed at children ages 0-14 years. The first 77 Kids stores opened in 2007. The brand is the younger counterpart to American Eagle Outfitters. Its flagship store is located in Pittsburgh, PA next to American Eagle's flagship store. 77 Kids stores are often placed within American Eagle Outfitters stores. In some shopping malls with smaller American Eagle Outfitters stores, 77 Kids stores can be seen operating separately from the main store. However, not all 77 Kids stores are tied in with American Eagle stores. Sale of the brand In 2012 American Eagle Outfitters sold its 77 Kids brand to a company called Ezrani 2 Corp, a company formed by Ezra Dabah, the former Chairman and CEO of The Children's Place and rebranded the chain as "Ruum American Kidswear". 77 Kids returns In June 2016, Kabushiki Gaisha ABS announced that it was purchasing American Eagle Outfitters. Later that month, the Japanese conglomerate announced that American Eagle's 77 Kids operations would be restarted, with the first new locations opening in July that year. Partnerships and licensed lines 77 Kids announced a deal with Chuck E. Cheese's (a Kabushiki Gaisha ABS subsidiary as of June 2016) in September 2016 to bring out character-themed garments. CEC Entertainment Concepts was already making themed t-shirts prior, but the line is "set to expand rapidly throughout 2017". These garments are sold at both 77 Kids and at Chuck E. Cheese's through the prize counter. 20 free tokens for use in the arcade area at a CEC location are given away with every garment in the line. 2016 store redesign In June 2016, it announced that it was going to re-introduce some of the original 'kid-friendly' store design points that were picked up by Ruum after the buyout, including: * "Peek-a-boo" safety portholes on the changing room doors * Specially-marked hooks in the changing rooms, marked "Gotta have it!", "Mmmm, maybe", and "No way!", intended to give children a means of communicating their opinions on certain garments to their parents * A 'Treats' bar, where children can receive a piece of candy, a temporary tattoo, a small toy, or a sticker after their parents make a clothing purchase It also added some new child-centric design features of its own: * A kid-sized store entrance that leads into a small "lounge" area for kids 54" tall and under Kabushiki Gaisha ABS said that "despite being used by Ruum up until now, it is entirely senseless to not re-introduce elements that defined 77 Kids as a child-friendly chain outlet from the get-go". Slogans *Long live fun (former primary slogan; used from 2007-2012) *Live your life! (Secondary slogan; also used by American Eagle Outfitters) *Live, Love, Rock 77 (used in advertising) *77 where the kids rule! (current primary slogan) *Too cool for school (used in a 2016 back to school advertisement) Website addresses *77kids.com (United States) *77kids.rv (Varosha) *77.ae.co.dahr (Dahrconia) *77kids.sn (Saniel; closed in March 2016) *77kids.kt (Kanton) See also *American Eagle Outfitters *Ruum Category:American Eagle Outfitters Category:Children's clothing Category:Apparel Category:Kabushiki Gaisha ABS Category:Retail Category:Retail Stores Category:Clothing Stores Category:Clothing brand Category:Brand names Category:Worldwide